Kristin has been the main nurse to care for my niece. My niece was transferred to Cincinnati Children's in the summer of 2018 and this is where my niece received her trache. She has yet to leave a hospital- and she'll be 1 soon. The trache process was all very new and equally scary. Kristin went above and beyond to make my brother (her father) and my mother (my niece's grandmother) feel comfortable throughout all the training. Kristin cared for her as if she were caring for her own child, it was amazing. All the nights that my brother couldn't be there, knowing Kristin was there, with her, he felt okay leaving. For anyone who knows, there really is nothing worse than leaving your child. So thank you, Kristin, for making our experience- the most pleasant, and for loving our little one the way that you have. We will never forget you- and all that you have done for my niece as well as for my family.
We all fell in love with Kristin as soon as we met her. Kristin remembers we're all human. All of these babies are somebody's babies. She exemplifies what a truly great nurse is with her bedside manner. Her caring nature. The knowledge and calmness she brings to every situation. Her ability to communicate in a conversational way is not robotic, it's engaging. I cannot say it enough, she's truly remarkable.
Kristin is always patient with training, answering questions. Even when we're asking the same question 10 times and 10 different ways she never appears annoyed or agitated. Kristin knows everything that is going on with my niece, always. It's like you never hear her say "let me check her chart" which would be completely understandable. Kristin just knows. It's a lot to see your baby hooked up to cords, vents, and the trache, Kristin gets that, she has a calming personality and she's one heck of a nurse. There are nurses and then there are NURSES! I know we're all thankful every day that we got Kristin- she's just incredible.
My brother and mom would have 101 examples, but the one that sticks with me is from the afternoon I went to visit my niece and my brother was just beginning his training with the trache cleaning etc. At one point it seemed to get a little nerve-wracking, but Kristin didn't flinch, her eyes didn't widen, she was calm, cool and collected. I was nervous just watching, but Kristin ever so calmly just began asking my brother to tell her what the steps were, she was like "just think about the steps, she is fine" again, she just has a calming personality, which is just one aspect of what makes her a tremendous nurse.
Kristin discusses everything with my brother. From the beginning, it was always discussing together what the process was. Setting realistic time frames and expectations of how long her stay would be. When you need Kristin she's there. In such a busy environment Kristin brings back the humanity piece. When you have the pleasure of knowing Kristin you will always feel like only your baby matters in those moments. She hears you, she really listens. No decisions were EVER made without thorough discussions being had with my brother. There is my brother's first child, and there have been some unfortunate events that have occurred for them, but Kristin never spoke down to him because it was his first child, as people can tend to do from time to time. My niece is set to be leaving Children's in a few weeks to finally come home. I'm not sure how everyone will act not being able to see Kristin every day. We'll be sure to add Kristin to my niece's baby book, so she can always remember her.